Building block with electrical terminal box cast therein



Oct. 26, 1965 v, w, CASH 3,213,578

BUILDING BLOCK WITH ELECTRICAL TERMINAL BOX CAST THEREIN Original FiledJuly 7, 1959 INVENTOR.

ZZMW

United States Patent 3,213,578 BUILDING BLOCK WITH ELECTRICAL TERMINALBOX CAST THEREIN Virgil W. Cash, 4968 Randlett Drive, La Mesa, Calif.Continuation of application Ser. No. 825,522, July 7, 1959. Thisapplication Mar. 25, 1964, Ser. No, 360,160 3 Claims. (Cl. 52-173) Thepresent invention is a continuation of my copending application SerialNo. 825,522, filed July 7, 1959, now abandoned, and relates to a moldedbuilding block in which an electrical receptacle is integrally molded ina wall of the block. The block per se may be formed of any suitablematerial, such as, for example, concrete, cement, or baked clay, etc.

The present invention is particularly useful in building blocks of thehollow type in which electrical conduits extend through the hollows ofsuperimposed or side-byside arranged blocks.

In illustrating one form of the invention, the electrical receptaclespans one wall of the block and since the receptacle is hollow, theinterior of the receptacle forms a passage which extends through thesaid one wall, whereby electrical conduits, which are disposed withinthe hollow block, can be fished through the hollow of the receptacle forready attachment to electrical equipment such as an outlet or switch tobe housed by the receptacle.

Under certain circumstances, the block may be weakened somewhat by thesubstitution of the receptacle for' the material of the block.Therefore, preferably I provide for reinforcing the block by integrallymolding a reinforcing member in the block which spans the opening andextends to such walls of the block that are laterally disposed withrespect to the wall which carries the receptacle. This reinforcingmember is, or members are attached to the receptacle and function asanchors for assisting in retaining the receptacle in its integrallymolded position.

The reinforcing-anchoring member of the present invention, is providedwith two hook portions and a shoulder portion. An opening is provided ina wall of the receptacle. The hole is of such diameter and the hooks andshoulder are so disposed, with respect to one another, that one of thehook portions extends through the hole and engages the inside of thewall of the receptacle at one edge of the opening while the shoulderengages the opposite edge of the opening and the other hook portionfrictionally engages an outer edge of the receptacle. In this manner thereinforcing-anchor member can be readily attached to the receptaclewithout the use of tools.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription, references being had to the accompanying drawings wherein apreferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side view of a building block showing thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of a building block, shown in section, thesection being taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the electrical receptacle, part thereofbeing shown in section;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the reinforcing-anchoring member;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the anchoring member; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 66 of FIG. 1, buton a somewhat larger scale.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, a fragment of the buildingblock is shown at 20. This block is provided with one or more passages22 and is herein shown as having two such passages which extend entirelythrough the block. This block may be formed of any suitable moldedmaterial such as cement, concrete, glass, or fired clay, etc. The blockincludes an end wall 26, a rear wall 28, a front wall 30, a wallopposite wall 26 (not shown), and a dividing wall 32. It is to beunderstood that when the word mold is used, such word also comprehendscast.

The front wall 30 is provided with a passage 34 which may be shaped incross-section as a square, a rectangle, or having six facets, dependingupon the type of receptacle which is to be placed therein. Thereceptacle herein shown for illustrative purposes only, is in the formof a rectangle and is indicated at 36, the top wall thereof being shownin FIG. 2 and the front being shown in FIG. 1. The receptacle includestwo side walls 38 and 40, a top wall 42 and a bottom wall 44. Each ofthese walls is provided with inwardly extending flanges 46 at the frontand rear, and the major parts of the front and rear are open. Thisreceptacle is adapted to house an electrical element (not shown) such asa switch, an outlet connection or a terminal block.

The passage 34 extends entirely through the front wall 30 and thereceptacle 36 extends from the front to the rear of the passage 34. Thereceptacle is integrally molded at the time that the block 20 is formedand molded so that the receptacle 36 forms an integral part of theblock. The receptacle, being open at the front and back as shown at 48and 50 respectively, provides a passage therethrough, through whichelectrical conduit may be fished and connected to the electrical elementwhich is to be disposed within the receptacle. One of these conduits isshown in dash and dot lines in FIG. 6 and is indicated by the numeral52.

As previously set forth, under certain circumstances the block 20 may beweakened somewhat by reason of the passage 34 in the front wall 30.Preferably the receptacle is formed of steel but could be formed ofother suitable material such as plastic which does not have thestructural strength of steel. Too, the passage 34 may under certaincircumstances have to be relatively large to accommodate a relativelylarge receptacle. To compensate for the loss of strength in the block bythe hollow of passage 34, I provide a reinforcing-anchorging member. Inthe preferred embodiment this anchoring member is formed of steel and isshown at 54. Preferably two of these members are employed, one at thetop and one at the bottorn of the receptacle 36. Obviously moreanchoring members could be employed if necessity so demanded.

Each of these anchoring members 54 includes a central section 56 andextending arms or bars 58 and 60. These arms are disposed in the sameplane as the central section 56 and extend in opposite directions. Thecentral section 56 of the member 54 is provided with a downwardly andforwardly extending ear 62 which is hereinafter referred to as a hooksection. The central portion 56 is also provided with a second depressedportion 64 which extends rearwardly and provides a rearwardly facingshoulder 66. This depressed portion 64 is depressed approximatelyonehalf as much as the end of car 62 is depressed. Central seciton 56 isalso provided with a rearwardly and down wardly extending portion 68which also forms a hook portion.

The top wall 42 of the receptacle is provided with a hole 70. This holereceives the hook 62 of the member 54 and is of such diameter than whenthe hook 62 is extended downwardly through the hole with the upper edgethereof engaging the under side of the wall forwardly of the hole, theshoulder 66 abuts the rear edge of the hole 70, and the front side ofthe rear portion 68 frictionally engages the rear edge of the top wall42. To fasten the member 54 to the receptacle 36, it is necessary onlyto extend the hook 62 through the hole and underneath the top 42, andthen press forwardly and downwardly upon the member 54 so that it is inthe position as shown in FIG. 6, the cover or member 54 beingsufficiently resilient so as to be forced in position and held inposition due to the engagement of the top side of the hook 62 with theunder side of the cover, the shoulder 66 in engagement with the rearedge of the opening 70 and the rear portion 68 frictionally engaging therear of the receptacle. It will be understood that a similar hole 70 isprovided in the bottom of the receptacle and that the lower member 54 isheld in position in the same manner as the upper member 54.

It will be observed, particularly from FIGS. 1 and 2, that the arms orbars 58 and 60 not only span the passage 34 but also span the passage22, thereby tying wall 26 to wall 32. To further increase the tyingaction the bars 58 and 60 are each provided with an upwardly and down-Wardly extending ears 72, and these ears are preferably formed at theouter ends of the bars. Furthermore, to enhance the tying action thesebars are provided with a series of holes 74 which receives the unsetmolded material and ties the molded material on opposite sides of thebars with one another when the molded material sets.

The rear portion 68 of the upper reinforcing-anchoring member 54 extendsdownwardly, and the same portion 68 of the lower member 54 extendsupwardly. Each of these portions is threaded to receive a screw 76 bywhich a clamp 78 is secured in position. These clamps are arranged toretain the conduits 52 in position after they have been fished from thepassage 22.

The central portion of the flanges 46 at the front of the receptacleextends inwardly sufficiently to provide ears 80 which receive screwsfor attaching a cover plate (not shown).

The electrical receptacle is of the standard type, in which stanadrdsnap acting switches or terminals may be installed. It occupies no morespace than the standard electrical receptacles. The sides, top andbottom are closely and intimately embraced by the concrete in themolding of the concrete. The steel receptacle may be of such characterthat it in itself supplants the strength of an area of concrete equal tothe area occupied by the receptacle, however, I prefer to addreinforcement as previously described.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a building blockin which the electrical receptacle is molded integrally therewith, thuseliminating the necessity of the electrician spending valuable time inchiseli-ng holes in building block, the inserting of the receptacle insuch hole, and thereafter filling the space about the receptacle. Too,such former practice weakened the building block. I have not onlyprovided for dispensing with the time usually expended by theelectrician in chiseling the hole, inserting the receptacle and fillingthe space about the receptacle, but I have also provided a reinforcedwall to compensate for any loss of strength which may occur by reason ofthe passage for the receptacle. The reinforcing bars not only providefor reinforcing the wall but also provide anchoring means for enhancingthe anchoring of the receptacle in the wall, since these anchoring meansare also molded integrally with the block.

While the form of embodiment herein shown and de scribed constitutespreferred form, it is to be understood that other forms may be adoptedfalling within the scope of the claims that follow.

I claim:

1. A building block including:

(A) Walls forming a passage;

(1) one of said walls having a passage disposed transversely of and incommunication with the first mentioned passage;

(B) walls forming an electrical receptacle disposed in the secondmentioned passage, said receptacle being open at the front and rearproviding access to the first mentioned passage, one of said walls ofthe receptacle having an opening;

(C) a member for reinforcing the block in the area about the secondmentioned passage, said member including:

(1) a depressed hook portion extending through the said opening in saidwall of the receptacle and below that portion of said wall which formsone edge of said opening,

(2) a shoulder portion abutting the edge of the wall of the receptacleforming the opposite side of the opening,

(a) arms formed integrally with and extending from opposite sides of thesection and integrally molded in the block on opposite sides of thesecond mentioned passage.

2. A building block as defined in claim 1, characterized in that saidsection includes:

(3) a second hook portion frictionally engaging an outer edge of saidwall, of the receptacle, one of the two first mentioned portions beinginterposed between the other of the first mentioned portions and thesecond hook portion.

3. A building block as defined in claim 2, characterized in that theshoulder portion is disposed between the hook portions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 848,917 4/07McElligott 263 1,836,408 12/31 Sutton 50l27 1,845,760 2/32 Murray 50l271,854,314 4/32 Ryan 50l27 1,878,573 9/32 Arnold et a1 50l27 2,027,7841/36 Page 50l27 2,079,478 5/37 Bashe 50474 2,262,127 11/41 Wolf 50l27HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner,

1. A BUILDING BLOCK INCLUDING: (A) WALLS FORMING A PASSAGE; (1) ONE OFSAID WALLS HAVING A PASSAGE DISPOSED TRANSVERSELY OF AND INCOMMUNICATION WITH THE FIRST MENTIONED PASSAGE; (B) WALLS FORMING ANELECTRICAL RECEPTACLE DISPOSED IN THE SECOND MENTIONED PASSAGE, SAIDRECEPTACLE BEING OPEN AT THE FRONT AND REAR PROVIDING ACCESS TO THEFIRST MENTIONED PASSAGE, ONE OF SAID WALLS OF THE RECEPTACLE HAVING ANOPENING; (C) A MEMBER FOR REINFORCING THE BLOCK IN THE AREA ABOUT THESECOND MENTIONED PASSAGE, SAID MEMBER INCLUDING: (1) A DEPRESSED HOOKPORTION EXTENDING THROUGH THE SAID OPENING IN SAID WALL OF THERECEPTACLE AND BELOW THAT PORTION OF SAID WALL WHICH FORMS ONE EDGE OFSAID OPENING, (2) A SHOULDER PORTION ABUTTING THE EDGE OF THE WALL OFTHE RECEPTACLE FORMING THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE OPENING, (A) ARMS FORMEDINTEGRALLY WITH AND EXTENDING FROM OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE SECTION ANDINTEGRALLY MOLDED IN THE BLOCK ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE SECOND MENTIONEDPASSAGE.